Parts Unknown
Posted on Thu Dec 12th, 2024 @ 1:06am by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Ensign Emilynn Dove & Petty Officer 1st Class Baris Demir
2,554 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Interlude 1 Gamma Quadrant
Location: Engineering Bay 2, DS18
[ON]
The lab was tucked into a corner of Engineering on DS18 where they couldn't get in anyone's way. A simple array of alien devices whose purpose Baris refused to learn. He lifted a chip the length of his hand from the replicator and tucked it a silvery box. The chip nested in place with a small snick and Baris powered up the box.
No sparks.
He leaned in only to notice a faint, unpleasant odor seeping from the part and a quiet whine from its circuits. Baris thumped the power switch and a shower of sparks burst across his hand.
"I'm going to space that thing if it does that to me one more time," growled Baris. He ground a palm into his forehead, his eyes squeezed shut against the growing pressure in his skull. "All right, Ensign, any ideas? Because I don't think I could replicate an idea to save my life right now."
Emilynn watched the Boslic standing before her. She could see he was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. The pungent smell of the replicated part now beginning to overtake this corner of the room. She wanted to cover her nose, but composed herself knowing her negative reaction would only add to his frustration.
"Perhaps you could give me a moment to review the logs. Maybe I can make sense of what's happening here." She smiled at him trying to lower his stress level. She thought if she didn't intervene now, she might soon see smoke coming from his ears. "Something clearly isn't right here." she continued with a small chuckle gesturing to the part. She could tell by his reaction to her statement he wasn't impressed. He moved a few steps to his right and motioned her forward.
She knew from experience with replicators that they could be problematic. Despite their abundant use, they were often very time consuming to trouble shoot. The parts Baris was trying to replicate didn't appear to be too complex. She didn't feel they should be producing these results, in fact, she had never seen anything produce these results before.
Analyzing the logs Emilynn found nothing that stood out as a problem. The template for the part they were trying to replicate was logged correctly within the database and there didn't appear to be any problems with the power relays.
Baris began to fidget with the new part as he waited for Emilynn to finish her review. "The replicators have been reviewed before. Blueprints must be bad. All the parts have problems and the captain wants to trade them to the locals. Bah, we're wasting too much time, energy, and equipment. Mine, in particular."
Emilynn poured over the replicator's history and looked at the breakdown of each part that had been replicated. She compared each one to the full blueprint. She found no degradation of matter in the synthesized parts so essentially the parts should function as they normal would. They were virtually identical.
So, what was different? she pondered. Why did the initial part work and the replicated part did not?
“Well, as far as I can see Baris the blueprints are correct.” She looked over at him realizing he would likely not be at all pleased by her answer. “And the replicator is doing exactly what it should be doing.” She continued.
"That is also my conclusion but the engineers from the 18 said differently so we spend resources too much," replied Baris. He clapped his hand onto his head as though blocking his thoughts from exploding outward. "What are you thinking, Ensign?"
“The problems only occur when you try to utilize the part?” she questioned suddenly.
"Of course. There is no problem when it lies on the table, only when it is used. How else would we know it fails?" Baris glared at the box on the table as if its existence offended him. Exasperation iced each word he spoke.
Emi grinned at Baris. “Perhaps the problem isn’t with replication at all, but instead compatibility with its power source. Where did these parts come from anyway?” she asked curiously.
"Most came from SB18, others from alien vessels disabled in the attack. The inventory list is here. I wanted exact details--location, vessel, damage suffered--but most crew could not be bothered, I guess. Here, you can read my notes," Baris offered her his PADD. He lowered his voice as though sharing some conspiratorial secret. "How could it be the power source? The testing is done here because power is DS18 and conduits are stable now, they tell me."
Emilynn took the PADD offered to her and reviewed the notes. “Your notes are good.” She continued comparing the bad parts to the inventory list he had given her.
“Baris, look.” She paused long enough for him to come forward to examine the data. “The parts that are causing problems all come from recycled material from pod 042, that’s from the alien vessel, isn’t it?"
"Clearly, as it was the only salvage vessel with intact schematics. Engineering cross-checked them piecemeal with other vessels," said Baris. Secretly, he was pleased at how quickly she appreciated his detailed notes. Most of the crew viewed his skills as a blockade to some equipment; perhaps this ensign wasn't as useless. He hid this thought by scowling at the PADD as if trying to pry into the ensign's thoughts. "What of it?"
“Well, I think perhaps those parts are not compatible with our energy source and that is why they are doing that.” She pointed at the half-melted part on the table.
“If that is the case, I do not know how we would remedy the situation.”
Baris rolled the part between two fingers as though its existence broke some law of the universe. "This lab was supposed to be compatible but, if correct, you have opened a door of knowledge and exposed another door. So, Ensign, how do we make them compatible?"
“You are exactly right Baris! You’re a genius. We go through the other door! We stop trying to make the part work with our power, and instead make our power work for the part. We can’t change the part, but we can modify our power!"
Baris squinted at the ensign. He was glad his words sparked some new ideas for her but he was worried that meant he should be following her train of thought.
"Ah, that is interesting, Ensign," he said, staring back at the pile of replicated parts in a way he hoped looked thoughtful.
Emi’s mind started racing like water through a stream. Her fingers tapped on the console in front of her searching for the exact power output settings for their power source.
“If I cou…. Hold on. I recall reading a case study recently…who was that.” She stopped and placed her fingertips to her temple as if it would help her remember.
“It was from one of the Federation's leading engineers on power modifications. He talked about combining two separate power sources to make one part run. Who was it?…”
She reached for her bag that was nearby and pulled out her personal PADD from inside. Scrolling through the reading history she found the case study.
“Here it is. He talks about finding the input capability of the part and then modifying the two separate power sources into one steady stream. We of course don't have to do that part because we only have one power source, but it shows us how we can alter the power modulation program so the energy transference is successful.
I’ll just need to recalibrate the power chips and send the power through an anodyne relay. If the variance is less than .023 from the input capability of the part it should work. It really should work. You see?”
Emilynn looked over and Baris with a huge smile on her face.
Why are new Ensigns often so loud and excited?" he thought. He tried to mirror her smile with a twitch that barely tightened his cheekbones.
"I see what you are saying. It is good that you saw beyond the crudeness of the lab built by the DS18 engineers," said Baris. In truth, the problem and the solution did make sense; Emilynn quickly lost him in the details of the why but that was not his problem. "Can you fix the modulation now? I want to show the captain a successful test of replicated parts."
“Yes! Um..well…in theory. I shall need to make the modification and see if it works. But I really don’t see why it wouldn’t. It’s essentially written right here.” She held up the PADD as if it was the first time he had ever seen one.
She hardly went anywhere without her trusted PADD. She spent many long nights alone in her quarters researching, reading books, scientific articles, engineering case files, and experimental research projects. She would log them in a precise order for easy access on her trusted PADD for just this reason. She would be prepared, never caught at a disadvantage, that after all was the Dove way. It was what was expected. No excuses.
Realizing she paused more than was typically acceptable she continued. “Yes, I just need to start the recalibration on these chips, configure the power to travel through the anodyne relay, and make a few power modifications. Then we should be in business.”
She worked in silence for a few minutes before speaking again. “And….we shall get to test it in…” She made a few more keystrokes on the console. “precisely two minutes 31 seconds.”
Emi stared intently at the console, watching it slowly count down the time till the modifications were complete. She nervously tapped on the side of the desk and bit her lower lip until suddenly she stood up and filled the quiet void.
“Alright Baris, it’s ready. Let’s give it a try. Why don’t you do the honors.” She said extending her hand to display the newly modified replicator.
Baris gave his authorization and orders to the replicator. As the machine spun a new part out of energy, he glanced at the ensign. Methodical and precise, without the incessant chatter that some people felt the need to pour into perfectly reliable silence. Starfleet did all right with this one.
He moved the newly replicated part to the table. The old part took some effort to pry out, as the heat of the last experiment had melted one side and caused the part to expand. Baris tossed it aside like a cankerous tooth and sat the new part into the recently vacated slot. He glanced at Emilynn.
"Nothing much worse than another failure can happen," he said. No point second-guessing her measurements. He could have built several communicators from previous pieces that had fried, twisted, and burst. He activated the alien device, watched the power gauge brighten, and listened to several seconds of the gentle hum it made. "It works. Congratulations, you adequately performed where several others failed."
“We did Baris.” She corrected him gleefully. “Now you can tell the captain the job is done and will be ready. See with a little time and patience everything worked out.”
She looked over at Baris, her opinion of him had changed since first ending the lab. Where once there was an ill-natured Boslic in front of her, she now realized he was just a little misunderstood. His passion for his work was not unlike her own. He wanted to do well and she was grateful they had been able to unlock the mystery together.
Baris grunted as he turned the device around in his hands. In his mind, a long cloak flowed from his thick shoulders and Emilynn's pesky optimism rolled right off, pooling onto the floor. "We replicate a few more parts to test before running to the bridge. Tests may also tell us what some of these devices do," he said picking up a cylindrical device with several bumps and ridges, and a thick, L-shaped tool. "These we have not figured out. It is Lorcan and they don't tell us."
“Oh how interesting this one is,” Emilynn said as she picked it up and studied it. “It is made from something different than the rest of these parts. And it doesn’t look mechanical. It looks educational, or perhaps recreational even. “ She felt a flutter of excitement shoot through her.
The sphere was composed of a metal alloy, but was surprisingly lightweight, making it easy to handle. She noticed the sphere had a tiny ball of liquid inside it. With each spin or flip she made she watched as the liquid made its way through each compartment within the sphere. It had taken Emilynn several attempts to get past the beginning obstacle, and when she had missed, the liquid disappeared and returned to the beginning again. After several tries, she managed to get the liquid father and farther within the sphere.
“Baris, I think this is a game. You have to maintain complete control and balance of the liquid and manipulate it through the sphere to the end. I wonder what happens when you reach the end.” She questioned.
“Darn it. I missed again.” She laughed excitedly. “You want to try?” She held the device out in Boris’s direction.
Baris turned the device around in his hands, studying the channels while replaying the way Emilynn had handled the game. Play was not unlike guiding a small survey drone through narrow fissures in a family mine. Yet, getting the liquid to flow farther and farther caused frustration to gnaw deeper and deeper. Finally, having achieved nothing, Baris dropped it on the table.
"Not the discovery I want to share with the captain. There is no time for me to play. I must do further testing. Your insights were greatly appreciated." Baris began entering notes on his PADD, watching the ensign from the corner of his eye.
“Well. I guess that’s all then. I should probably go, I have other work that needs to be completed before my shift is over. Let me know if you have any further problems with replication. Okay?”
Baris grunted, his face already glued to the PADD; a new schematic already loading into the replicator.
Emilynn eyed the sphere on the table. “Uhh Baris, do you think I might borrow this for a while?” She asked hopefully.
Baris scowled at Emily as if weighing things only he could see. Emily had proven organized, with a sense for details. He thrust his PADD towards her. "Fingerprint here to accept accountability. I've given you an open checkout time, which really means have it back before I tire of waiting. But at least one month."
As soon as he had the sign-in Baris was back to the catalog of alien objects. He tapped on the first row and made a new entry, "Part Under Review." Beside all the rest it still read, "Part Unknown."
[OFF]
Ensign Emilynn Dove
Operations Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298
Petty Officer 1st Class Baris Demir (NPC by Leed)
Quartermaster
USS Firebird NCC-88298
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